Since Parliament’s ‘meaningful vote’ rejected the Prime Minister’s proposed Brexit deal, I’ve faced each day with a growing sense of trepidation. I’ve never been the gambling type – the idea of staking something valuable on an all or nothing bet has always been anathema to me. The stakes couldn’t be much higher: the future economic prosperity of the country, our place on the world stage and reputation as an open and tolerant nation. Yet suddenly the prospect of the worst possible outcome – crashing out of the EU on 29 March without a deal – is looking more likely. Time is running out and yet, across the political spectrum, many of our national politicians have little idea what comes next, let alone a route map out of the impasse.

As a devout Remainer, living in a borough and a city where the majority voted Remain, it would be easy for me to think about what happens now from a purely self-indulgent perspective. I would be happy to turn the clock back to 23 June 2016 and pretend the country had not voted to leave the EU. I suspect Leave supporters, living in areas where the majority voted for Brexit, feel an equivalent level of frustration – that in two years we’ve not settled on a deal and negotiated our exit.